When will justice come knocking for Wagalla victims?

By WAWERU MUGO

WAJIR, KENYA: Slightly more than three years ago, then Wajir West MP Adan Keynan emotionally broke down on the floor of Parliament, when memories of how he lost his brother, uncle and sister to senseless killings in his backyard came flooding back. He had sought protection for the people in the north, where in his own words “the policy of killing people indiscriminately, raping and maiming” appeared the norm.

He had touched on the surface of one horrible incident, where a chief in his county had his testicles crushed by security forces on November 10, 2010. The incident had opened the floodgates of haunting memories of a wave of killings and injuries thar visited locals in North Eastern Province by security forces.

In particular, Keynan singled out one such dark period in which he lost relatives - February 10, 30 years ago. The day is variably referred to as ‘Black Friday’ in Kenyan history, the onset of the First Holocaust in post-independent history. It was on this date that security personnel turned the desolate Wagalla Airstrip into a gulag, bastardly humiliating and brutalising thousands of men and boys for the next four days, leaving in their wake, a torrent of blood, tears and death.  

Former Cabinet Minister and now Tarbaj MP Mohamed Ibrahim Elmi also broke down, overwhelmed by his recollection of Wagalla while testifying at the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Committee (TJRC). He witnessed Wagalla, lost a brother, relatives and friends.

In the infamous state-sponsored incident, reports indicate that officers of the Kenya Army and police (regular and administration) gone rogue rounded up about 5,000 men and boys, mainly from the Somali Degodia clan, took them to the Wagalla Airstrip and stripped them naked. With guns trained on the now subdued males, the security forces in a further act of humiliation forced the lot to lie on their bellies on the hot airstrip for four straight days and nights- without any food and water!  

In their wickedness, the “disciplined” forces set victims’ clothes alight and carted away their valuables and money. In a scene from hell, they descended on the hapless innocents, subjecting them to a four-day orgy of unspeakable torture. Cornered, the now very hungry, thirsty, weak and desperate masses tried to flee. Instead, they were met with more violence as their tormentors mowed them down with gunfire like ants.

Ahmed Khalif, the area (Wajir West) MP stunned Parliament with his revelation. The Wagalla story was still sketchy, and it took the bold Khalif - he was nearly detained over the matter - to tell the world.

WOMEN RAPED

“From February 10 to 14, the security forces arrested more than 5,000 men and put them into concentration camps…where all the people were stripped naked and kept for five consecutive days with no water and food. Those who tried - in keeping with religious obligations - to say prayers stood up and were shot dead. They were killed through beatings, shootings, and some of them burnt alive,” an enraged Khalif said.

He presented a list of more than 300 people who were killed, including former nominated member Noor Haji, 20 civil servants and other government workers like chiefs. Victims were rounded up from across Wajir County- Elben, Dambas, Butelehu, Eldas, Griftu and Bulla Jogoo among others. Though women were never hurled into military vehicles, many were reportedly raped as the operation went into high gear.

As Oloo Aringo (Alego Usonga MP) told Parliament much later on April 25, 2001, on the fourth night, many of them (had) died of starvation and the torture meted on them. “It was one act of holocaust by the Kenyan Government against its own people,” he said.

In Parliament two years later, Wajir East MP Mohamud Abdi Mohamed remembered the thousands who died: “They were harmless, defenceless, old and sick. Some were doused with petrol and set ablaze, others were hacked to death while some were stoned by the security forces…leaving thousands of orphans and widows.”

Desperate to conceal the despicable, Aringo had said, “The survivors were transported to the Somalia and Ethiopia borders and ordered to go to Ethiopia and Somalia. The Kenya Army and the Provincial Administration made frantic efforts to do that.”

But even with the massive cover-up, the macabre killings could not be wished away. Khalif had spoken. And unknown to the attackers, Italian missionary Annalena Tonelli and other expatriates who were working in Wajir at the time, Parliament learnt, “took pictures of that particular holocaust”.

“They recovered dead bodies from the forest and took them to their families for decent burials. Since Ms Annalena Tonelli traced those who had been sent to Somalia and Ethiopia and returned them to their homes in Wajir… the sister was deported from Kenya by the Government to forestall the leakage of what had transpired at the Wajir airport,” Aringo stated.

To date, to quote Aringo, the “Government of Kenya (has) maintained its deep silence and denied that genocide took place… .”

Somali bandits

Unashamedly, Minister Justus Ole Tipis in a statement told Parliament a month after the massacre that only 57 Somali bandits, as he called them died in a cross-fire after provoking a military tribunal! He would state that less than 500 men were rounded up, an account survivors vehemently refute.

Further, in response to Khalif, then Vice President and Home Affairs Minister Mwai Kibaki asked for substantiation that people had been stripped naked. MP Charles Muthura (Laikipia East) accused Khalif of irrelevance in his contribution to the presidential speech while Parmenas Munyasia (Kitui West) jestingly demanded to know the names of those who threatened to wipe out the Somalis.

Information available points to careful planning and execution of the operation. Meetings were held by key government (civil servants, military and police) officials in Wajir. According to the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJCR), “the Wagalla massacre is a clear example of collective punishment” of an entire community (Degodia) during a disarmament operation also aimed at forcing them to provide names of bandits who were committing crimes in the district.

NO APOLOGY

“The TJRC established that most of the adversely mentioned persons denied their involvement and knowledge of violations. They also trivialised the extent of violations.

For example when Benson Kaaria was questioned on the Wagalla massacre, he defended the security operation and stated that it was successful, and that is despite the fact that over 57 persons were killed and only four (4 ) guns recovered. Most of the adversely mentioned persons refused to apologise, stating categorically that they had nothing to apologise for.”

Calling on the NARC government to set up a commission to investigate Wagalla, Mohamed in his 2003 contribution, further regretted, “The Government even refused to release death certificates to the families of those killed so that they could seek compensation. Up to today, the families have never been compensated.”

In the same period, Aden Sugow (Fafi) pointed out that information from Government on the Wagalla massacre was scant, a situation he termed “pure discrimination” for the people of NEP.

A few days earlier, Mandera Central MP Billow Kerrow had called for action on those involved in the massacres in Malkamari (Mandera), Wagalla, Bulla Karatasi among others in the vast province. He also took issue with the invitation to the State Opening of Parliament of a former Provincial Commissioner allegedly involved in Wagalla killings.

DELIBERATE MISINFORMATION

He said, “It is very unfortunate, indeed that such a person was entertained. It is sad that such a person can share with us the luxuries of this August House.”

Three years earlier in October, Assistant Minister William Ruto (now Deputy President) stunned the House when in reply to a question by Adolf Muchiri (Kasarani MP) he stated that the shooting of the people at the airstrip was triggered when “those people tried to ambush the policemen there”. Like his predecessors, he too claimed only 57 died and not the 5,000 alleged, adding, “It was unfortunate, but that incident was formented by the adamancy of those (Degodia) communities.”

Keynan termed the answer “deliberate misinformation” and “unfounded”. He regretted that 15 years down the line, government had as yet to establish a Commission of Inquiry to establish what exactly happened at Wagalla. Colleague Anyang Nyong’o (nominated) also wondered why it appeared so difficult for the government to establish such a commission.

More recently- 4 years ago, Adan Duale (Dujis MP, now Leader of Government Business) highlighted in Parliament the rampant violations of human rights of the people of Northern Kenya. He cited the Wagalla massacre where “a lot of killing and rape was done”; the Malka Mari and Takaba massacres.

Barre Shill who preceded Sugow as Fafi MP was unforgiving wondering whether it was government policy to mete out corporal punishment on the people in North Eastern Province whenever insecurity flared.

And as he noted 14 years ago, “The issue of the Wagalla massacre will haunt this Government forever. Questions on this issue will be asked here this year, next year, and many years to come by different generations”.

But 30 years on, the tears are still flowing from Keynan, Elmi and thousands more. Yes, a monument was unveiled last week during the commemoration of the gruesome event, but what about justice?  Who will serve the victims and survivors their justice?

When will the elusive expressions of remorse, sorrow and apology come knocking?